Like Two Peas in a Pod

Ever hear this expression?  It simply means that two people are very similar and that the two people you are comparing either look the same or act the same.

Today's topic of discussion is our Purple Podded Garden Peas.  We've had a nice harvest of Sugar Snap Peas this year and they are just about finishing up.  The ones that are still out there, I'm leaving for seed for next year.  We harvested our first purple podded peas this past week.  These peas really add some zing to the visual feast in the garden.  Unlike the Sugar Snap Peas, whose blooms are white, these peas bloom in purple, maroon, and lavender colors and true to their namesake, sport deep purple pods.  The peas inside the pod are not purple, they are, well... pea green.


Purple blooms & Purple pods

Here is an up-close and personal photo of the bloom from one of the peas:


Nice color contrast against the green foliage

Here are a few of the purple pods that have not filled out yet: 

Purple Pods

As the pea pods fill up, the pod takes on less of a dark purple hue.  Here are a few I've lined up as examples:

Ready for shelling

There are machines that are made for shelling peas, but since we're just growing for personal consumption and don't have a whole bunch of them, we do it the old fashioned way - by hand.  Benjamin is an especially good pea sheller.  Below I've posted a few shots of the shelled garden pea.  The simplicity and symmetry of the peas are sort of neat to look at.

This photograph is a good example of the saying, "Like two peas in a pod" and illustrates why it means that two things are very similar.  Well, except for the pea on the far right.  He's the runt of the litter.

All in all, if I had my 'druthers, I'd rather a sugar snap pea.  Sugar snap peas seem to be a better producing pea and a better tasting pea.  Perhaps it's not a fair comparison, since the Purple Podded Pea is a 'soup pea' and not as sweet as sugar snap peas.  We shelled the purple podded peas and added them to a homemade chicken, vegetable and wild rice soup that Tricia prepared and we all thought they were good.  Tune in tomorrow for more of my pea-brained ramblings...